National Council of La Raza

By Joanna Campbell

Graduate Student, Grand Valley State University (Fall, 2005)

Definition

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR) is a non-profit organization that “works to improve opportunities for Hispanic Americans” (National Council of La Raza, Mission/Operating Principles). It does this in four ways: 1) advocacy, policy analysis and research, 2) capacity building among Hispanic community organizations through its national and affiliate offices, 3) public media efforts, to strengthen the image of Hispanics and supply the media with accurate information, and 4) special projects under the NCLR umbrella (National Council of La Raza, Initiation of Research and Policy Efforts).

NCLR is the largest Hispanic organization in the United States (Charity Navigator) and it serves “all Hispanic nationality groups in all regions of the country” (National Council of La Raza, About NCLR). That covers over 35,000 groups, which each year collectively serve over four million Hispanics nationwide (National Council of La Raza, Mission/Operating Principles). According to the NCLR website, the current areas being addressed by NCLR are: immigration, education, advocacy and electoral empowerment, employment and economic opportunities, civil rights and justice, farm workers, community and family wealth-building and health and family support (National Council of La Raza, Topics).

Historic Roots

National Council of La Raza began as Southwest Council of La Raza (SWCLR), which was established in 1968 in order to address the need for an organizing force among Mexican community organizations. The goal of the organization was “developing and strengthening other local organizations, and promoting empowerment, voter registration, leadership development, and other forms of advocacy” (National Council of La Raza, Formation of the Southwest Council of La Raza). It began to do this by establishing formal relationships with other nonprofit organizations serving Mexican populations around the country; these organizations became known as “affiliates.”

In 1972 SWCLR’s name changed to National Council of La Raza and its headquarters moved from Arizona to Washington D.C. to reflect its shift from a regional to national organization. Shortly afterward, the organization, formerly headed by Henry Santiestevan, changed leadership and Raul Yzaguirre came on as Executive Director (National Council of La Raza, Transition to a National Organization).

In 1975, NCLR developed an Office of Research and Policy Analysis, as the result of a decision to increase the organization’s focus on public policy. As well, during this time NCLR was expanding the scope of its influence from serving Mexicans to serving all Hispanics, which was formally acknowledged by the organization in 1979. Executive Director Raul Yzaguirre made a case with the Board of Directors that “NCLR could speak for the entire community only by establishing effective connections with other Latino subgroups, and that effective advocacy requires a unified voice for Hispanics” (National Council of La Raza, Initiation of Research and Policy Efforts). During this time NCLR also revised and refocused its mission to encompass the four areas mentioned above, which remain its focus today.

During the Reagan administration, when budget cuts were made that eliminated almost all funding for “community-based nonprofit organizations and the technical assistance funds to strengthen them,” (National Council of La Raza, Development and Growth of the Policy Analysis Center) NCLR was greatly affected. This led, in part, to NCLR placing a greater emphasis on public policy and advocacy during that era. A lack of actual information about the status of Hispanics in the United States prompted NCLR to realize that its arguments for advocacy lacked strength without facts-based research as support, and so the organization opened the Policy Analysis Center in 1980 (Ibid.).

NCLR’s establishment and development during this period consisted of many challenges, described here by Yzaguirre: “broadening our funding base, the definition of missions, the changes in board culture, the tension between trying to be a professional organization and a movement vehicle, the role we played in coalescing the Hispanic organizations, [and] the difficulties in dealing with both friendly and unfriendly administrations” (Nicolau and Santiestevan 1991, 66).

Today the organization employs a total staff of 120 people at its national headquarters in Washington DC and in 7 regional offices across the United States (National Council of La Raza, About NCLR).

Importance

National Council of La Raza was born during the social organizing movement among Hispanics in the 1960s that brought the specific needs of “La Raza” to light on a political and social level. National Council of La Raza was the first organization to address the needs of Hispanic community organizations on a national scale. Today its Policy Analysis Center is “the leading Hispanic think tank and preeminent voice in Washington, DC for Hispanic Americans” (National Council of La Raza, Mission/Operating Principles).

Two decisions were made early on in NCLR that proved very influential and continue to guide the organization. First, SCLR made a commitment, as an organization, to nonpartisanship. This has allowed the organization to represent Hispanics more effectively by serving constituencies across the political spectrum. It is crucial to the organization’s success that it has the ability to advocate across party lines, to circumvent the pegging of Hispanic needs as a partisan concern. Second, in 1973, NCLR revised its bylaws to require that there be an equal number of men and women as members of its board, one of the first and—to this day—one of the only organizations to have such a requirement. Other bylaws have since been enacted that require representation of “all geographic regions of the U.S. and all Hispanic subgroups” (National Council of La Raza, NCLR Leadership), and that mandate that half the board must be comprised of representative of their affiliates or others “who have identifiable constituencies” (Ibid.).

One researcher on Latino Philanthropy writes that, “one of the most significant aspects of Latino evolution within the independent sector is the increase in efforts of Latino community institutions to stabilize their finances and maximize their options by developing endowment and capital campaigns, as well as community-controlled fund development strategies and grant making pools” (Ramos 1999, 156). NCLR has been an integral part of this effort through capacity-building and regranting activities (Ramos 1999).

National Council of La Raza is an important voice that advocates, organizes, and provides assistance and accurate information on behalf of the Hispanic community about issues facing the more than 35 million Hispanics nationwide (U.S. Census Bureau).

Ties to the Philanthropic Sector

National Council of La Raza has had ties to the philanthropic sector since its inception as a “mutual assistance association” (Gonzales 1985, 158). The resources necessary for National Council of La Raza to be established and to continue to exist largely come from within the philanthropic sector. Initial funding for the organization was granted by The Ford Foundation and labor organizations such as United Auto Workers (Nicolau and Santiestevan 1991). The Ford Foundation has been a critical partner with National Council of La Raza since the organization first began, as one of the first foundations in the United States to recognize and study the unique needs of Hispanics and to support Mexican American programs and organizations. The Ford Foundation, because of its long-standing involvement with National Council of La Raza has also influenced it greatly and been part of its formative process (Ibid.).

During the 1970s, funding sources for Mexican-American organizations began to diversify, as the government and the philanthropic sector began to allocate money toward certain programs for Hispanics. However, these programs were largely based on “the black reality” (Ibid., 51), as the needs of the Hispanic community were not understood to the extent that those of the black communities were. And in the 1980s, corporations began to fund Hispanic-based initiatives as they realized the power of the Hispanic market and demographic base (Ibid.).

In addition to receiving funding from the philanthropic sector, National Council of La Raza is a non-profit philanthropic organization itself, providing support and assistance to Hispanic community organizations and advocating on behalf of Hispanics in the political arena. One aspect of this is through regranting, where the organization serves “as a conduit for sub-granting funds...for the affiliates” (Ibid., 60). NCLR also functions are a resource outlet for information regarding current issues within the Hispanic community, particularly those “affecting minority, limited-English-speaking, and/or low income persons” (National Council of La Raza, Mission/Operating Principles). The primary component of this is through publications and resources put out by NCLR. These include a quarterly magazine called Agenda, policy papers, statistical analyses, reports on issues affecting the Hispanic community and other resources (National Council of La Raza, Mission/Operating Principles).

Key Related Ideas

Capacity is understood as the ability of organizations, “to perform functions, solve problems, and set and achieve goals” (United Nations Development Programme). Capacity building, then, is “the sustainable creation, utilization, and retention of that capacity, in order to reduce poverty, enhance self-reliance and improve people’s lives” (Ibid.). National Council of La Raza is involved in capacity building of Hispanic organizations through its affiliate offices by strategies such as regranting, and providing technical assistance and training to these community based organizations.

Along with the anti-war movement and the Black civil rights movement (Conde 1996), the Chicano movement emerged during the 1960s and 1970s with the formation of organizations that focused on political activism on behalf of Mexican-Americans. These organizations addressed issues such as police treatment, immigration, civil rights, education and work conditions (Hernandez 2004). National Council of La Raza was born out of this period, out of the heightened awareness of the necessity of securing rights for Hispanics, which was brought to the forefront of the national consciousness by the Chicano movement (Conde 2003). An important effect and byproduct of the Chicano movement was the nurturing of leadership among Hispanics. It is evident that the organization and the movement have been strongly tied to one another since their beginnings (Nicolau and Santiestevan 1991).

“La Raza” means the people in Spanish, (National Council of La Raza, About the Latino Community) and is a self-defining term popularized among Hispanics in the 1960s during the civil rights era to indicate ethnic origin.

Important People Related to the Topic

• Janet Murguia (1961 - ): Current Executive Director and CEO of National Council of La Raza, Janet Murguia was appointed in 2004, succeeding Raul Yzaguirre. Previously she served on the board of directors of NCLR, worked at the University of Kansas as the Vice Chancellor for University Relations and worked in the White House under the Clinton administration (National Council of La Raza, NCLR Leadership). She has indicated her priorities are, “to strengthen NCLR’s ties with community organizations around the country that serve Hispanics, push for higher educational attainment among Hispanics, and work toward parlaying Hispanics’ huge population numbers into economic empowerment” (Hispanic Magazine).
  
  
• Henry Santiestevan (1915 -2000): Santiestevan was a well-known person within the Democratic political scene (Gonzales), and before becoming Director of NCLR was an organizer for United Auto Workers (Nicolau and Santiestevan 1991). He led the organization from 1970-1974, and was at its helm for NCLR’s move to Washington, DC, as well as its name change. Santiestevan was responsible for mentoring many leaders within the organization and the Hispanic community (Ibid.).
  
  
• Raul Yzaguirre (c. 1939 - ): Raul Yzaguirre became Executive Director of NCLR in 1974. He directed the organization for nearly thirty years, and led NCLR’s organizational growth through an increase in funds granted, staffing and the establishment of affiliate organizations (Ibid.), as well as in broadening NCLR’s functions and purposes (Gonzales, 1985) . He has been a major force in the United States among the Hispanic community and on its behalf, and has been described as, “a builder, mobilizer and unifier of people and institutions working together to safeguard the rights of all people” (Independent Sector). In 2005, the national NCLR office in Washington, DC moved to a new building, which was named after Yzaguirre in order to recognize his leadership and profound impact on both the organization and the people it serves (National Council of La Raza, Establishing Priorities).

Related Nonprofit Organizations

• Chicanos por la Causa (CplC) is a community development corporation within the State of Arizona whose areas of focus include programs in economic development, social services, education, housing and cultural development (www.cplc.org/About_Us/index.html). CplC is an affiliate of NCLR.
  
  
• The Hispanic Federation (HF) is a member organization founded in New York in 1990 whose mission is “to serve our community by building and supporting Latino institutions”  (www.hispanicfederation.org/about/index.html). HF operates in the area of health and human services within New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
  
  
• Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility (HACR) is an organization whose mission is “to ensure the inclusion of Hispanics in corporate America at a level commensurate with our economic contributions” (www.hacr.org/about/pageID.2/default.asp). The organization has four areas in which it operates: employment, procurement, philanthropy, and governance.
  
  
• League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) was established in 1929. LULAC is the oldest Hispanic organization in the country. By supporting Hispanic community organizations through providing scholarships for students, registering voters, developing housing for low-income individuals and counseling, job and literacy training, LULAC carries out its mission to “advance the economic condition, educational attainment, political influence, health and civil rights of the Hispanic population of the United States”  (www.lulac.org/).

Related Web Sites

Latino Issues Forum Website, at www.lif.org, is a public policy group that addresses issues that affect the Latino community. It focuses on “access to higher education, economic development, health care, citizenship, regional development, telecommunications issues and regulatory issues” (www.lif.org/about_LIF/mission.html). It also provides resources in print and online for nonprofit organizations, practitioners, and other interested persons.

Pew Hispanic Center Website, at www.pewhispanic.org, is a part of the Pew Research Center, funded by Pew Charitable Trusts. It conducts research on the Hispanic population through studies and public opinion surveys to discover Latino perspectives on social and political issues. It is not an advocacy organization. Much of its research on demography, economics, education, identity, immigration, labor, politics and remittances can be accessed at this website.

Hispanics in Philanthropy, at www.hiponline.org/home/, is dedicated to building bridges between organized philanthropy and the Latino population so as to inform all sectors of the needs in Latino communities and to ensure these needs are supported.

Bibliography and Internet Sources

Charity Navigator. National Council of La Raza. Accessed 04 December 2005. www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/search.summary/orgid/4171.htm.

Conde, David. “Baby Boomers Continue to be Dissatisfied with Establishment.” La Voz 22, 1996: 5. In ProQuest [database online]. Accessed 04 December 2005. Available from Grand Valley State University Libraries.

Conde, David. “Latino Leadership Appears in Every Area of American Life.” La Voz 29, 2003: 8. In ProQuest [database online]. Accessed 04 December 2005. Available from Grand Valley State University Libraries.

Gonzales, Sylvia. Hispanic American Voluntary Organizations. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1985. ISBN: 0313209499.

Hernandez, David Manuel. “Mi Raza Primero!: Nationalism, Identity, and Insurgency in the Chicano Movement.” The International Migration Review 38, 2004: 777-779. In ProQuest [database online]. Accessed 04 December 2005. Available from Grand Valley State University Libraries.

Hispanic Magazine. June 2004 Issue Cover Story. Accessed 4 December 2005. www.hispaniconline.com/magazine/2004/june/Features/latinas5.html.

Independent Sector. Newsroom. Accessed 04 December 2005. www.independentsector.org/media/yzaguirre.html.

National Council of La Raza. About the Latino Community. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/content/faqs/detail/396/.

National Council of La Raza. About NCLR. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/.

National Council of La Raza. Development and Growth of the Policy Analysis Center. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/history/history_growth_policy_center/.

National Council of La Raza. Establishing Priorities. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/
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National Council of La Raza. Formation of the Southwest Council of La Raza. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/history/history_formation_swclr/.

National Council of La Raza. Initiation of Research and Policy Efforts. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/history/history_initiation_policy_research/.

National Council of La Raza. Mission/Operating Principles. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/mission/.

National Council of La Raza. NCLR Leadership. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/leadership/.

National Council of La Raza. Topics. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/topics/.

National Council of La Raza. Transition to a National Organization. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.nclr.org/section/about/history/history_transition_national/.

Nicolau, S. and Henry Santiestevan. “Looking Back: A Grantee-Grantor View of the Early Years of the Council of La Raza. In Hispanics and the Nonprofit Sector, edited by Herman E. Gallegos and Michael O’Neill, 49-66. New York: The Foundation Center, 1991. ISBN: 0879543981.

Ramos, Henry. Latino Philanthropy: Expanding U.S. Models of Giving and Civic Participation. Council of Foundations: 1999. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.cof.org/files/Documents/Publications/Cultures_of_Caring/latino.pdf?.

United Nations Development Programme. Capacity Development. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.capacity.undp.org/.

U.S. Census Bureau. QT-P3. Race and Hispanic or Latino: 2000. Accessed 30 November 2005. www.factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=y&-geo_id=01000US&-qr_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U_QTP3&-ds_name=DEC_2000_SF1_U&-_lang=en&-_sse=on.